Blowing-engine.



No. 872,603. PATENTED'DEC. 3, 1,907.

H. AIKEN.-

BLOWING ENGINE.

APPLIQATIOH FILED JULY25,1904.

5 SEBETS-SHERT l.

H. AIKEN. BLOWING ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY25,1904.

INVENTOR PATENT-ED DEC. 3, 190.7.

PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907. H. AIKEN. BLOWING-ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY25,19Q4;

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PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

H. AIKEN. I BLOWING ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY25,1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wimassms v PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

H. AIKEN. BLOWING ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY25,1904.

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mysn-roa 4W7 arm HENRY AIKEN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

BLOWING-ENGINE.

To all whom it concern."

Be it known that I -HENRY AIKEN, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania,

have-invented a new and useful Im rovement in Blowing-Engines, of which t e following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s, forming part of this specification, 1n whic Figure 1 is an elevation of a blowing engine constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig 2 is a vertical section of the upper portion of the engine; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of'the lower portion, these two figures being continuations of each other, and intended to be read together; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the u per head; Fig. 6 is avertical section of the lowing engine on a smaller scale, the plane of section being the same as in Figs. 2 and 3; and Fig. 7 is a similar viewon a plane at right angles to Fig. 6.

My invention is an improvement upon the blowing engine for which on December 1, 1903, I'filed an application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 183,354, and its purpose is to provide a double-acting blowing engine which will compress the air and discharge it to the blast-main both on the up-stroke and downstroke of the piston. Inthe apparatus shown in the application above referred to, the air was compressed and discharged into the blast main on the down-stroke only.

In the drawing, 2 represents a vertical exlosion-cylinder having a water-jacket 3, a ower water-cooled head 4, valves 5, 5 which admit air and gas respectively into the explosion cylinder, and valves 6 for the exhaust ofthe spent gases, or the valve-mechanism may be arranged so as to admit previously mixed gas and air to the cylinder. Above the explosion-cylinder 2, and in vertical line therewith, is a second explosion-cylinder 7 which is also water-cooled and is of larger diameter than the cylinder 2, thus affording at its lower end an. annular head 8 in which are valves 9, 10 for admission of gas and air and the dis charge of the spent gases. Above the explosion-cylinder 7 and in vertical line therewith is the air-compressing cylinderl 1 which is of greater diameter than the cylinder 7 and has at the annular head afforded at its lower end air-inlet valves 12 and air-outlet valves 13, the latter leadin to a blast-main Specification of Letters Patent. I Application filed July 25 1904:. Serial No. 217.904 I connecting rods wheel shaftwithout passing1 making the my engine uhaust of the-spent is effected, is control Patented Dec. 8, 19 07.

The upper end of the compression-cylinder 11 has also air-inlet valves 12 and air-outlet valves 13.

The pistons of the cylinders 2, 7 and 11 are preferably made as an integral structure. The compound piston has a portion of smallest diameter 15' which works in the cylinder 2 and moves u wardly into the cylinder 7, a portion 16 0 intermediate diameter which works in the cylinder 7 and moves upwardly into the cylinder 11, and a portion 17 of the greatest diameter which is the piston for the air-compressing cylinder 11. Thesepistons are weighted with a central weightlS which is set within the compound piston in such manner as to leave an intermediate space 19. for circulation of water or other cooling medium introducedthrough a central passage 20'from a telescoping pipe 21- and discharged through a telescoping outlet pipe 22. a

The cylinders 2 and 7 have igniters. 23 and 24 operated preferably by suitable cams and 25 from one of the driven parts of the engine.

The engine has fly-wheels 26 mounted on a main shaft 27, whose cranks are connected 4 by pitmen 28 to cross-heads 29 which" move incross-head guide; are connected with the piston 17 by vertical rods 31 which extend throu hstufi'ing boxes 31' at the base'of the cylin er 11. The pistons are therefore connected with the flyrods through the explosion-cylinders an without the necessity ofproviding these cylinders with stuffing boxes, which on account of the heat generated b the frequent explosions would be I especialy difficult to maintain. By connection from the piston in this manner I avoid the ordinary walking beam connection extending outwardly from the center of the engine to the connecting rods which has been a source of great difficulty in engines heretofore employed; In the connection between the piston and the crank-shaft is in straight lines, and

3O. The cross-heads I thus secure asimple and strong device free from the difficulties above mentioned.

The valve mechanism by which the explosive charge of gas and air is admitted to the cylinders 2 and 7, and by which the exases from the cylinders %ed by rods 32 and levers 33 or other suitable mechanism operated by cams '34 on shafts which derive their power through gearing 35 from the main crank shaft Figs. 2 and 3 show the parts of the engine as they are when the compound piston has been lifted to its full extent by an explosion which has taken place say in the lower explosion-cylinder 2. After the out-stroke has been effected by such explosion, the piston makes its return stroke by gravity, the fly wheel being employed for the purpose of imparting exactness of length to the stroke and securing greater regularity of motion in displacing the compressed air from the compression-cylinder 11. On the return of the piston which is thus effected by gravity, air 18 compressed. in the lower part of the cylinder 11 and. is displaced through the valves 13 to the blast-main, while air is drawn into the upper portion of the cylinder 11 through the inlet-valves 12. On this same downstroke the explosive charge of air and gas which has been drawn into the cylinder 7 on the up-stroke is compressed in that cylinder,

and the spent gases from the previous explosion in the cylinder 2 are displaced through the exhaust-valves '6. When the piston has reached the end of its down or return stroke, the compressed gases in the cylinder 7 are ignited, the exact moment of the ignition being determined by setting thecams of the igniting mechanism at the oint desired. The resulting explosion impe s the compound piston in its up-stroke, the end of which is illustrated in Fig. 2.- In this upward motion, an explosive charge of air and gaslis drawn into the bottom cylinder 2, and air is compressed in the upper end of the cylinder 11 and is discharged into the blastmain through the valves 13. When the compound piston returns by gravity, air is compressed in the lower portion of the cylinder 11 and is discharged through the valves .13 as above explained; the spent. gases are exhausted from the exhaust-valves at the base of the cylinder 7; and the explosive charge' contained in the lowest cylinder 2 is compressed preliminarily to the next ignition which takes place when the piston reaches.

the end of its down-stroke. It will thus be seen that compression and discharge of air into the blast-main is effected at each upstroke and each down-stroke of the piston 18 3 that an explosion occurs and an impulse is imparted tot-he piston at the end of each d0wnstroke, the explosions taking place alternately in the two explosion-cylinders andthat the return of the piston is effected by gravity and serves not only to compress the air in the cylinder 11, but also to ex e1 the spent gases from the cylinder in which the explosion last occurred and to compress the explosive charge of gas and air in the other cylinder.

Some of the advantages of this construcis equivalent in its efi ect to the explosion in the other.

Within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims the parts may be modified in many ways, since What I claim is:

1. An engine comprising an upright explosive cylinder having at least two sections of different diameter, and a piston having portions fitting the respective cylinder sections, the return stroke of the piston being effected by gravity, substantially as described.

2. An engine comprising an explosive cylinder having at least two sections of different diameter, a piston having portions fitting the respective cylinder sections, and valves in the inner, head of the larger cylinder sections, substantially as described 3. An engine comprising an explosive cylinder having at least two sections of different diameters, a piston having portions fitting the respective cylinder sections, the working area of the piston ortions being substantially equal, and va' ves in the inner head of the larger cylinder section, substantially as described.

4. An engine having two explosion cylinders in endwise vertical alinement, an air compression cylinder in alinement with the explosion cylinders and a compound piston arranged to eflect its return stroke by gravity and to compress air in the compression cylinder on both strokes; substantially as described.

5. An engine having two explosion-cylinders in endwise alinement and directly connected with each other, an air compression cylinder also in endwise alinement, a compound piston having portions fitting in the several cylinders, and valves located in the annular heads between the cylinders; substantially as described.

6. An engine having an explosion cylinder, a compression cylinder directly connected to the explosion cylinder, a compound vertically movable piston in said cylinders, said piston being weighted to effect its return stroke by gravity and an air discharge and air-inlet valves both above and below the compression piston; substantially as described.

7. An engine having a vertically movable piston adapted to eifect'itsreturn stroke by erases 8. A compression-cylinder, and two explosion cylinders, means for efiecting alternate explosions in the explosioncylinders to canes-the out-stroke of the pistons, means for causing the return-stroke by gravity and insnch return-stroke compressing a charge in one explosion-cylinder and exhausting the gases from the other explosion-cylinder, and valves for discharging the cornp'r ssed air' from the oompression-cylinder at each iii-stroke and out-stroke of the piston; substantially as described.

9. An engine comprising an upright cylinder having three sections of progressively increasing diameter, a piston having portions fitting the respective cylinder sections, and means for effecting explosions in two of the cylinder sections for rendering them succes- 'sively active to lift the piston, the return stroke of the piston being effected by gravity, and the third cylinder section constituting a compressor cylinder, substantially asdescribed, y

10. An engine having two explosion cylinders and a compression cylinder, said cylinders being directly connected and in endwise vertical alinement with each other, a coinpound piston l l l above Working in said cylinders and arranged to effect its return stroke by gravity, and air-inlet and air-discharge alves and below the piston on the compression cylinder; substantially as described.

11. An engine comprising a compressor cylinder and at least two explosive cylinders in vertical alinement, pistons working in the cylinders and connected for simultaneous movement, and means for eifeetingexplosions in the explosive cylinders to render the same successively active to lift the pistons,

the return stroke being'etiected by gravity,

snbstantially des ribed;

12. in a blowing engine, an upright cylinder having three sections of progressively increasing diameter, a piston having portions fitting the respective cylinder sections and weighted to effect its return stroke by grav ity, the two smaller cylinder sections being explosive cylinders and the larger section being a compressor cylinder, each head of the compressor cylinder having inlet and outlet valves, and admission and exhaust valves in the head of the middle cylinder section. around the smaller section, substantially as described.

In testimony my hand.

whereof i have hereunto set HENRY Al EN.

Witnesses:

' Tnorrns W, BAxnWnLL,

H. M Convvnv. 

